Block of northbound 8th Street in Colorado Springs closed since late May, scheduled to reopen today
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — After stalling in front of Walmart for more than four months, a major segment of the ongoing 8th Street improvements project is about to resume its gradual advance northward.
In a release issued late last week, city officials said that the northbound lanes of 8th Street, between Motor City Drive and Lower Gold Camp Road/Abbot Lane, should reopen to traffic on Monday.
Officials did not provide a specific time for the reopening.
Last week, crews began repaving the affected block to cover the first part of a new water main being installed by Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) between Motor City and Cimarron Street.
Progress slowed after crews bored 30 feet under Bear Creek for the first phase of the installation; CSU had to connect local business service lines to the new main, and the city had to complete stormwater upgrades to address flash flooding from the hills above 8th Street.
That phase was also delayed earlier when crews learned they had to redesign the bore under the creek.
Opening the lanes mentioned above should provide relief for northbound drivers turning into Walmart; however, traffic will then immediately narrow to one lane in each direction as the pattern shifts to the west side of 8th Street, and the next phase of the water main replacement continues.
That phase will be in front of the Shell gas station and the former Sonic restaurant, with the traffic impacts extending an additional block to Costilla Street.
Meanwhile, repairs continue on the west side of the Fountain Creek bridge, at the north end of the project; that work occasionally closes the southbound left lane, which can cause traffic backups in three directions at the north end of 8th Street, the westbound lanes of the US 24 Frontage Road, and the parking lot of the Colorado Place shopping center.
Officials hope to finish the entire project late next spring.
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